Concerns about $1.4 million cost overrun to build a city-owned recycling center and the facility's potential viability have put the project on hold.

Fort Collins officials have been working for years on the concept of a facility that would provide residents and businesses with a single, centralized location to bring recyclables. The center would handle materials ranging from paper and plastics to scrap metal and construction rubble.

Construction on the first phase of the Community Recycling Center southwest of the intersection of Prospect and Timberline roads was expected to begin in early summer and be ready for customers in August or September.

But City Council members on Tuesday directed staff to pause their efforts and rework a proposal to expand the facility beyond the $750,000 already earmarked for the project.

While still generally supportive of the concept, council members said the project should be slowed down and more consideration given to whether the first two phases of the center should be built together or separately, and at what cost.

Mayor pro tem Gerry Horak said funding for the center beyond what has been approved should be weighed against other priorities during the process of crafting the city's 2015-16 budget.

"I would prefer seeing that with a conscious decision than trying to rush it," he said. "It's a lot of additional money and to just pull it out of reserves is not something I am into doing."

Initially, the first two phases of the project were expected to cost $747,000. But staff members said they badly underestimated the cost of construction and going through the city's planning process.

The current estimate for building Phase 1 of the project, which would accept materials that are difficult to recycle, is $750,000. Building Phase 2 would cost an additional $1.4 million, officials said.

Building both phases at the same time would save the city about $300,000, said Susie Gordon, a senior environmental planner.

The center would be on a 7-acre site on city-owned land off Timberline Road south of Prospect Road. The facility would be in an industrial area south of an existing power substation and out of view from nearby residential neighborhoods.

Phase 1 would be operated and maintained by a private contractor that would charge a gate fee for accepting materials such as metal, yard waste, electronics, treated wood and construction materials.

Phase 2 of the project would include moving the existing recycling center next to Rivendell School off Riverside Avenue to the new facility.

Collection bins would be placed at grade level, so residents could drop off materials without having to climb stairs as they do now at the busy Riverside location. Phase 2 also would provide a drop-off for household hazardous waste, such as paint cans.

Having a recycling center capable of accepting a variety of materials is in line with the city's efforts to increase recycling and keep materials out of landfills, said Bruce Hendee, the city's chief sustainability officer.

It would match up with city goals to eventually achieve "zero" waste, he said.

The facility would compete with businesses in town that handle some types of recyclables. But it would be privately managed and serve a need for recycling building materials that isn't being met now, Hendee told council members.

The city's "green" building code requires recycling of some materials.

Councilman Wade Troxell said he has a lot of concerns about the center, including its impact on businesses and the lack of participation in the center by Larimer County, which operates the nearest landfill and has a recycling center.

"I think we're looking at a solid waste utility, and that's not what was presented to City Council — ever," Troxell said.

Requests for proposals to construct and operate the facility have been sent out, and some companies have responded. No contracts have been signed, and the project will be put on hold.

In an interview following the council's meeting, Hendee said city staff members will continue shoring up the budget for the facility and bring information to the council through the budget process.

"I think there's general agreement by council — we heard it from both sides tonight — to move forward with the recycling facility," Hendee said. "The question is, how do you define it, what does it cost, where is it going to go? It's not so much about whether it's a good idea."

If the $750,000 that was appropriated for the facility is not spent this year, it would not automatically roll over to the next budget, said City Manager Darin Atteberry.

Phase 1 of the project will be in the recommended budget for 2015-16, he said, but funding for it would have to be reappropriated.

Council would have to decide whether to fund Phase 2 of the project and at what level.

Atteberry told council members the miscalculation of costs for the recycling center was "embarrassing" and not typical of how the city handles major projects.